Mazmur 22:4

22:4 In you our ancestors ¹  trusted;

they trusted in you ²  and you rescued them.

Mazmur 30:9-12

30:9 “What ³  profit is there in taking my life, ⁴ 

in my descending into the Pit? ⁵ 

Can the dust of the grave ⁶  praise you?

Can it declare your loyalty? ⁷ 

30:10 Hear, O Lord, and have mercy on me!

O Lord, deliver me!” ⁸ 

30:11 Then you turned my lament into dancing;

you removed my sackcloth and covered me with joy. ⁹ 

30:12 So now ¹⁰  my heart ¹¹  will sing to you and not be silent;

O Lord my God, I will always ¹²  give thanks to you.

Mazmur 40:2

40:2 He lifted me out of the watery pit, ¹³ 

out of the slimy mud. ¹⁴ 

He placed my feet on a rock

and gave me secure footing. ¹⁵ 

Mazmur 71:3

71:3 Be my protector and refuge, ¹⁶ 

a stronghold where I can be safe! ¹⁷ 

For you are my high ridge ¹⁸  and my stronghold.

Mazmur 86:13

86:13 For you will extend your great loyal love to me, ¹⁹ 

and will deliver my life ²⁰  from the depths of Sheol. ²¹ 

[22:4]  ¹ tn Heb “fathers.”

[22:4]  ² tn The words “in you” are supplied in the translation. They are understood by ellipsis (see the preceding line).

[30:9]  ³ sn The following two verses (vv. 9-10) contain the prayer (or an excerpt of the prayer) that the psalmist offered to the Lord during his crisis.

[30:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “What profit [is there] in my blood?” “Blood” here represents his life.

[30:9]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew term שָׁחַת (shakhat, “pit”) is often used as a title for Sheol (see Pss 16:10; 49:9; 55:24; 103:4).

[30:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “dust.” The words “of the grave” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[30:9]  ⁷ tn The rhetorical questions anticipate the answer, “Of course not!”

[30:9]  sn According to the OT, those who descend into the realm of death/Sheol are cut off from God’s mighty deeds and from the worshiping covenant community that experiences divine intervention (Pss 6:5; 88:10-12; Isa 38:18). In his effort to elicit a positive divine response, the psalmist reminds God that he will receive no praise or glory if he allows the psalmist to die. Dead men do not praise God!

[30:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “be a helper to me.”

[30:11]  ⁹ sn Covered me with joy. “Joy” probably stands metonymically for festive attire here.

[30:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “so that”; or “in order that.”

[30:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “glory.” Some view כָבוֹד (khavod, “glory”) here as a metonymy for man’s inner being (see BDB 459 s.v. II כָּבוֹד 5), but it is preferable to emend the form to כְּבֵדִי (kÿvediy, “my liver”). Like the heart, the liver is viewed as the seat of one’s emotions. See also Pss 16:9; 57:9; 108:1, as well as H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 64, and M. Dahood, Psalms (AB), 1:90. For an Ugaritic example of the heart/liver as the source of joy, see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 47-48: “her [Anat’s] liver swelled with laughter, her heart was filled with joy, the liver of Anat with triumph.” “Heart” is used in the translation above for the sake of English idiom; the expression “my liver sings” would seem odd indeed to the modern reader.

[30:12]  ¹² tn Or “forever.”

[40:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “cistern of roaring.” The Hebrew noun בּוֹר (bor, “cistern, pit”) is used metaphorically here of Sheol, the place of death, which is sometimes depicted as a raging sea (see Ps 18:4, 15-16). The noun שָׁאוֹן (sha’on, “roaring”) refers elsewhere to the crashing sound of the sea’s waves (see Ps 65:7).

[40:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “from the mud of mud.” The Hebrew phrase translated “slimy mud” employs an appositional genitive. Two synonyms are joined in a construct relationship to emphasize the single idea. For a detailed discussion of the grammatical point with numerous examples, see Y. Avishur, “Pairs of Synonymous Words in the Construct State (and in Appositional Hendiadys) in Biblical Hebrew,” Semitics 2 (1971): 17-81.

[40:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “he established my footsteps.”

[71:3]  ¹⁶ tc Heb “become for me a rocky summit of a dwelling place.” The Hebrew term מָעוֹן (ma’on, “dwelling place”) should probably be emended to מָעוֹז (ma’oz, “refuge”; see Ps 31:2).

[71:3]  ¹⁷ tc Heb “to enter continually, you commanded to deliver me.” The Hebrew phrase לָבוֹא תָּמִיד צִוִּיתָ (lavo’ tamid tsivvita, “to enter continually, you commanded”) should be emended to לְבֵית מְצוּדוֹת (lÿvet mÿtsudot, “a house of strongholds”; see Ps 31:2).

[71:3]  ¹⁸ sn You are my high ridge. This metaphor pictures God as a rocky, relatively inaccessible summit, where one would be able to find protection from enemies. See 1 Sam 23:25, 28.

[86:13]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “for your loyal love [is] great over me.”

[86:13]  ²⁰ tn Or “for he will have delivered my life.” The verb form indicates a future perfect here.

[86:13]  ²¹ tn Or “lower Sheol.”